


I'll (Never) Love Again (Part 3&4)

by WellDoneBeca



Series: I'll (Never) Love Again Series [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alpha Bucky Barnes, Alpha Thor (Marvel), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Beta Pepper Potts, Beta Tony Stark, Domestic Avengers, F/M, Family Dynamics, Iron Man 2, Long, Omega Reader, Pre-Thor (2011), Reader-Insert, SHIELD, Spoilers, Thor (2011) - Freeform, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:08:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28991214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WellDoneBeca/pseuds/WellDoneBeca
Summary: No one ever wonders what the perils of living forever really are. In two hundred years, you were sure there was very little you've yet to see.Or you were, before that Norse God changed your perspective of life for the first time in two centuries, wreaking havoc with SHIELD and your personal life and destroying notions you felt would never change.You could tell him to leave you be. You had to deal with Tony, SHIELD and a newly gamma-mutated doctor you didn't even know you could trust yet.That disgrace Asgard Prince had answers, though, and those are something you absolutely need, one way or another.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: I'll (Never) Love Again Series [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2051028
Comments: 19
Kudos: 96





	1. Summary

No one ever wonders what the perils of living forever really are. In two hundred years, you were sure there was very little you've yet to see.  
Or you were, before that Norse God changed your perspective of life for the first time in two centuries, wreaking havoc with SHIELD and your personal life and destroying notions you felt would never change.  
You could tell him to leave you be. You had to deal with Tony, SHIELD and a newly gamma-mutated doctor you didn't even know you could trust yet.   
That disgrace Asgard Prince had answers, though, and those are something you absolutely need, one way or another. 


	2. III. I

Year -10 (2010)

You watched the crowd with a small smile, hearing as Tony spoke and bragged about his accomplishment, and stepped close to your son when he approached you. Stark Expo had just opened, and he was just very keen in making this edition the best one and to exceed whatever his father did before.

“Hey, you,” you rested your hands on his covered shoulders when he stepped into backstage, leaving Howard’s video playing for the public, and raised him an eyebrow, recalling his speech. “Longest period of world peace  _ because of you _ ? Must I remind you who is working behind the scenes to make it all go smoothly?” 

He blushed. 

“Look, you were the one who asked to remain incognito,” he reminded you. “But I know I wouldn’t be able to do anything without you, and that’s gonna go on my only authorised biography that is still on the works.”

You shook your head, Part of doing the work you did and being who you were was indeed, remaining in secret, working behind the curtains to keep things flowing normally, and seeing how being Iron Man affected Tony, you were constantly reminded of why. 

“Come here,” you called him closer. “Let me see it.”

Your son instantly blushed. 

“Mum… Here?” he hissed.

You looked around. Backstage was empty, everyone was watching Howard’s video.

“We’re alone,” you assured him. “Come on.”

Tony’s first surgery had been last year, but it wasn’t the only one; he needed three of them in the end, and the last one was just some days ago. He was just a couple of days out of the period he was supposed to stay in bed, and you were keeping an eye on him. 

He opened his bottoms, exposing his healing skin to your eyes, and you reached for him, touching his chest with two fingers, raising your eyes to his face and watching him breathe in deep while his skin stitched healed with the soft energy you were emitting.

“There we go,” you whispered. “Better safer than sorry.”

He closed his buttons silently. 

“I made a new arc reactor,” he told you just as you turned to climb down his stairs. 

You snapped back at him, and his eyes widened. 

“It’s fake,” he assured you. “Just for show. To look cool. I’m Iron Man, I have to look like Iron Man.”

You rolled your eyes. 

“What does Iron Man even look like if not you?” you joked. “The kids in school won’t mind if you don’t wear that thing on your chest, Tony.”

He fawned your your hand away, blushing, and you chuckled. 

“Have you participated in the other expo?” he asked. “Or visit it?”

You confirmed, following him just as Happy started rushing the two of you out. 

“It was nice. I visited some attractions, but didn’t stay for long,” you told him, ignoring as people pushed through to try and get to Tony, most of them women, and rushed down the stairs along with him, with Happy making sure the way would be clean. “You know pregnancy and expos don’t match, too many people, too much time standing and all that stuff.” 

He lowered his eyes, embarrassed, and his head of security opened the door so the two of you could walk outside, and a car was already waiting, along with a redhead. 

“Mister Stark,” she initiated, but you interrupted her before she could even speak. 

You already knew she was there to deliver a document saying Tony was supposed to be at the senate at 9am tomorrow, and you also knew you had already worked on that, and the meeting as cancelled. 

“Call your superior, ma’am, the meeting is cancelled,” you warned, not even looking at her while picking the document from her hands and throwing in your purse. 

“And who are you?” she asked. “His lawyer?” 

You chuckled, watching as Tony entered the car and Happy waited for you. 

“No, but sometimes I wish I were,” you joked. “At least I’d be paid.”

“You’ll see your new gift when we get home,” he answered in a snark tone from inside the vehicle. “Is that all?”

“Ma’am…” she started. 

“Doctor,” you corrected her, and pulled your badge from inside your purse, instantly making her stop and swallow down. “Doctor Klaczko-Barnes. Tell them you met me, they’ll know what that means. Is that all?”

She nodded.

“Yes, doctor.” 

You entered the car and Happy closed the door, moving quickly to drive away just as Tony watched you put your badge away. 

“Do I get one of those?”

“No,” you chuckled. “And the process to get hired is a bit too difficult, honey, I don’t know if you’re patient enough to go through it.”

He thought for a moment and then shrug. 

“Fair enough,” he decided. “Happy, I’m in the mood for Sushi. Are you in the mood for sushi?”

You shrugged, and he put his hands behind his head.

“Sushi it is then,” he decided. “And mum?”

“Yes, dear?” you unlocked your phone, looking for the new work email you’d just received about Doctor Bruce Banner -  _ again _ .

“I’m making Pepper CEO of Stark’s Industries.”

You nodded, not paying much attention, until the information actually hit you. 

“You’re what, now?”


	3. III - II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I didn't realise I hadn't post the chapter.  
> Here it goes, guys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mamusiu = one of the many version of "mum" in Polish  
> Find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/welldonebeca)  
> Find me on [Tumblr](https://welldonebeca.tumblr.com/)  
> [ The Outfit ](https://urstyle.fashion/styles/2860188)

Year -10 (2010)

“ _Mamusiu*_!” Tony called for what felt like the tenth time from the ring in the middle of his gym. “You are not looking!”

Tony was, according to himself, as good as new after his last surgery, but you were still having a hard time trusting leaving him on his own and not helicoptering him a bit now that his treatment was over. The last six months were a tense period, and you couldn’t just shake everything off you. 

“I know your training and that Happy stinks like dirty Alpha, love, it’s already a lot,” you answered, not moving your eyes away from the tablet in your hands, completely absorbed into the documents left there.

“Hey!”! his chief of security protested, but you just waved a hand to dismiss him. 

Doctor Bruce Banner was in SHIELD’s watch it’d been a while. He had tried to replicate the super serum that transformed Steve into Captain America all those years ago, for years, and ended up with a completely different effect when he decided to introduce gamma radiation into it: A green big form people called ‘The Hulk’.

Now, your team was studying either bringing him to your side or, if it wasn’t possible, imprison him. With that much power present, you couldn’t let him just roam around without some control over the situation. It… _he_ was too potentially dangerous. 

But first, you had to find him, and that was a bit of a hard task. 

“Tony,” Pepper’s voice called from the door. “The notary’s here. Can you please come sign the transfer paperwork?”

Yes. The transferred. Tony had given Pepper the post of Stark’s CEO. 

Not that you disagreed with him that - Pepper had been making the decision for the company for quite a while now, but a little warning would be appreciated, especially because you had to change some of your plans after that - and they were almost ruined. 

Now… you trusted Tony more than every since your reconciliation, but there were still things you needed to know that he wouldn’t tell. 

“Ma’am,” the known voice walked to Pepper. “I need you to initial each box.”

That was where Natasha came into the picture. 

You knew your own limitations as a person, especially when it came to Tony. Anyone close to you knew he indeed had you wrapped around his finger, and you couldn’t and wouldn’t let him interfere with your work or with the world’s safety. 

“What’s your name, lady?” your son questioned from his place in the ring. 

“Rushman,” she answered quickly. “Natalie Rushman.”

You just looked at her and their interaction silently. She was here to watch and report what you didn’t know, notice or see - or your motherly-clouded mind just ignored. 

Natasha was one of your favourite agents, and you couldn’t trust her with any mission, so you’d given her this one. 

And he took the bait. 

“How do I spell your name?” he asked.

“R-U-S-H-M-A-N,” Nat answered, looking over at him and glancing at you with the corner of her eyes before crossing the room and stepping into the squared ring, just as Tony researched her in the system. 

You stood up, walking to watch him silently as he read her carefully created profile and zoomed on the photos from her fake modelling career. 

“Do you speak latin?” he asked. 

“I do,” you confirmed. 

_You_ were the one to teach Natasha how to speak Latin. 

Tony muttered something back, and you raised your eyes just in time to see your agent taking Happy down. 

“Happy!” Pepper exclaimed, and Tony just gasped. 

Yep. Just like you planned. 

“Mamisiu,” he called as soon as she stepped out through the door. “Monaco.”

You closed your eyes. Tony had a thing in Monaco, some… rich people meeting that happened while they watched a car race, and he wanted you to go with him, something that was out of your reach. 

“No,” you shook your head. “Sorry, but no. It won’t happen, honey.”

“But mum... “ he whined. “You can do whatever you do here when you’re there!”

You shook your head. 

“Boundaries, Tony,” you reminded him. “Remember? This is a hard no for me.”

He sighed, but nodded at last. 

“Okay,” he confirmed. “Can I send you pictures, though?”

You smiled. 

“As many as you want.”

Tony grinned in response, and Happy groaned. 

“You two give me diabetes,” he limped out of the ring. 

“Don’t be a sore loser, Happy,” you chuckled. “I can get your mum here to help you.”

“Oh shut up,” he groaned, leaving the room and you chuckled, but quickly changed your focus when your phone chimed in with a text. 

_‘How did that go?’_

Natasha. 

_‘Perfectly well. Congratulations.’_

_‘Thank you, ma’am.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/welldonebeca)  
> Find me on [Tumblr](https://welldonebeca.tumblr.com/)  
> [ The Outfit ](https://urstyle.fashion/styles/2860188)


	4. III - III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ The Outfit ](https://urstyle.fashion/styles/2874115)  
> Find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/welldonebeca)  
> Find me on [Tumblr](https://welldonebeca.tumblr.com/)  
> [ The Outfit ]()

Year -10 (2010)

Your phone vibrated on your desk, and you moved your eyes from your computer to it, smirking when you recognised Pepper’s name and photo on the screen. 

> ‘ _He hired her. I can’t believe he hired her.’_

You already knew that. Just a few days ago, Nat had told you she’d been hired as Tony’s new assistant, and was operating as an official second pair of - much more impartial - eyes for you, analysing if your son was apt or not for your organization. 

> ‘ _Why are you so surprised?’_ you wrote down. ‘ _It’s Tony.’_

Someone knocked on the door of your office, and you rose your eyes to it, finding Nick and waving a hand for him to come inside. 

“Doctor,” he stepped into the room. “Can I have a minute?”

“Of course,” you put your phone aside. “What is the problem?”

He didn’t answer at first, and sat in front of you with a folder in hands, sliding it in front of you, and you felt your body tensing up in expectation. 

“What is this?” you asked. 

“Please, open it.”

You complied, and frowned it in confusion once your eyes recognised the name on it. 

The Avenger’s Initiative. 

“Nick, I’ve already approved this,” you reminded him. “I already signed you up to work on it without needing my written permission.”

He didn’t answer, and you turned the page, doing it once again as you read the _‘Proposed Member’s’_ on the front. 

You turned the page again and clenched your jaw. 

Anthony Stark. 

Your whole body became tense, and you moved your hand away, resting them on your lap. 

“I don’t think this is the best of ideas,” you decided. 

“Why?” he asked.

You stared at your friend. 

“What do you mean, why?” you asked. “Nick you’re asking me to allow Tony into the initiative after you said it yourself he was unreliable.”

But he wasn’t even affected by your words. 

“Natasha is observing him,” he said simply. “I might have been incorrect.”

You moved a hand to your face, rubbing your eyes and pinching the bridge of your nose, at last understanding why he’d proposed sending Natasha to watch on Tony. 

“I won’t throw my son into a world-wide threat, Nicholas,” you told him. “I’m not human, but he is.”

“He won’t be alone,” he told you. “Agent Barton and Agent Romanoff are in the initiative just as well.”

You shook your head. 

“And what are they gonna do? Cry for help when while he dies?” you asked, and rubbed your temples. “That’s why you suggested having her watching on him, wasn’t it?” you asked. “To prep him up behind my back.”

He denied it with a shake of his head. 

“No. He is being evaluated by a trustworthy agent before being approved for the team,” he corrected you. “You said it yourself, you’re partial to Stark. I know that as his mother you don’t want him involved in anything, but you know there are only a few people who can take such a role, and he has shown himself to be apt.”

You fell onto silence. You knew he was right, but still couldn’t convince yourself, because it just didn’t feel _right_. 

“You may not like this, but he _is_ your son. He is the son of the woman who risked everything to go to war, who ignored all of the possible dangers and gave her own DNA to create the perfect soldier for the possibility of having someone who could be a real hero where she couldn’t. Every ounce of the hero instincts he carries in his body, Stark got from you,” he affirmed. “And he will act on them regardless of what you think or feel about it, with us or all by himself.”

You took in a breath and rose your eyes to meet his, biting the inside of your mouth. 

“If anything happens to him, I will _never_ forgive you,” you promised. “Do you understand me?”

Nick nodded slowly. 

“I know, Y/N,” he confirmed. “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/welldonebeca)  
> Find me on [Tumblr](https://welldonebeca.tumblr.com/)  
> [ The Outfit ]()


	5. III - IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/welldonebeca)  
> Find me on [Tumblr](https://welldonebeca.tumblr.com/)  
> [ The Outfit ](https://urstyle.fashion/styles/2874128)

Year -10 (2010)

“Wow,” Rhodey stepped by your side offering you a glass of champagne while holding a glass of whiskey for himself. “You never cease to amaze me with your beauty.”

You chuckled. 

“What can I say?” you took the tulip glass from his hand. “Two centuries teach you a lot about fashion. And I’m pretty sure my genetics help a lot.”

He smiled, and you looked around silently. It was Tony’s birthday. He was turning 40, and had gone all in with the party and the guests, which meant you were hiding in the balcony while the music blasted and people danced and drank like there was no tomorrow.

“So,” he took a sip of his whiskey. “SHIELD?”

You raised your eyebrows to your friend, though knowing the subject would rise eventually. 

“What do you want to know?” 

“Why hadn’t I heard of it until recently?” 

An obvious question. 

“We are a secret organisation. You never needed to hear from us, so you never did.”

Rhodey nodded slowly. 

“Why him?” 

You took in a long breath, trying to find the right words to answer him.

“We train heroes,” you spoke slowly. “People who can face tasks normal people can’t. People with special abilities and characteristics…” 

He absorbed your words quietly, and turned to look at where Tony was talking something to Pepper. 

“You think he’s a hero?” he asked, not surprised, but genuinely interested in your answer. 

“I think he can be one,” you corrected him. “He cares for people, he’s smarter than the average person. And, of course, the armour…”

Rhodey nodded, smirking. 

“Yeah, the armour is a good addition,” he agreed. “I’m surprised you got to run over the government with this one. They really wanted him.”

“I know,” you confirmed. “I have some power of some things, Rhodey, and I’m not very afraid to use it. This is a thing I think no one in the government will ever cross me about.”

He started at you in surprise. 

“Who are you, the president?”

You laughed. 

“That would blow my perfect cover,” you pointed out. “No, I’m just someone who knew better than all of them together.”

He didn’t answer, and you rested an elbow on the balcony, watching his face for a moment. You liked Rhodey. He had a sense of justice very few people had. If only he wasn’t such an American Boy walking poster…

“If you ever want to work favouring the world and not just this country, give me a call,” you told him. “I could use more people like you in my crew.”

Rhodes gave you a surprised look. 

“I…” he cleared his throat. “I will think about it.”

You hummed a confirmation, sipping from your drink, and he excused himself after promising not to tell it to anyone, and you simply waved a hand, watching the road from where you stood, quietly taking in the nature and trying to take its sounds while ignoring the party behind you, until someone cleared their throats by your side. 

“You look lonely,” Pepper noticed. 

You sighed.

“It’s complicated,” you muttered. “You wouldn’t understand.”

She approached you anyway, and you looked over your shoulder to the group celebrating, finding Tony all over _Natalie_ and grimacing. 

You were still yet to talk to her about how you knew of what she was doing already, and maybe that was one of the reasons you were feeling so strange. 

“I don’t like her much, too,” she muttered. 

“He always had a thing for redheads,” you snarkily remarked.

She chuckled. 

“What do you think of getting out of here?” Pepper suggested. “I know a good restaurant that is still open and is much less crowded.”

You were ready to answer when your chest felt tight and empty of air, and gripped the balcony, trying to breathe in, but failing completely. 

“Doctor!” she exclaimed dropping her glass and rushing to you just as your knees gave out. 

You clenched a hand over your chest, trying to make sense of what was happening before flashes of a man in golden armour covered your vision

 _“I now take from you your power,”_ he spoke. “ _In the name of my father and his father before.”_

Light hit you and something heavy hit your chest, making you limp in whoever’s grip was around your body. They lifted you up, and you could scent how Rhodey was carrying you in his arms and rushing out. 

“ _I, Odin Allfather, cast you out_!” he berated. 

“Get out of the way!” Pepper screamed. “Everyone, get out of the way!”

Your eyes were inundated with light from all sides, until it felt like your body physically crashed. 

“ _Whosoever holds this hammer,_ ” the man’s voice came as a whisper into your ear. “ _If he’ll be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor_.”

And just like that, it was all gone, and you could breathe again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/welldonebeca)  
> Find me on [Tumblr](https://welldonebeca.tumblr.com/)


	6. III - V

You sat up straight on the bed, startled and trying to steady your breathing and looked at your side to find Tony holding your shoulder, pale as a piece of paper. 

“Are you okay?” he asked. “What happened?”

You rubbed a hand up your face, confused and lost for a moment. 

“I…” you struggled to find words. “I couldn’t breathe.”

“You were glowing,” Rhodey told you, looking beyond confused. 

You took your fingers away from where they were combing through your hair, and watched them under your eyes, still finding a soft glow slowly fading from them. 

“I don’t know,” you muttered. “I just… I wasn’t…”

You fell into silence,, and Natasha walked into the room with water in her hands, rushing to your side and offering the cold glass to you. 

“Should I call 911?” she asked, still in her character, and you shook your head. 

“No,” you pushed her hand aside. “I don’t… I should go home, I should leave.”

“Do you want me to send everyone away?” Tony asked. “Cause I can do that.”

You shook your head. 

“No, don’t worry,” you assured him. “I’ll be okay. I just need to go. Enjoy your party.”

He crossed his arms and looked at the three in the room. 

“Pepper, why don’t you and Natalie go tell everyone everything is under control?” he asked. “Rhodey and I will… We’ll stay to make sure she’s fine. First aid and all.”

Both the women looked at you in question, and you just nodded silently for them to leave, taking your slid ring from the inside of your dress and sliding into your finger when they were gone. 

“Where are you going?” Tony asked. 

“I’ll see Isolde,” you told him and hesitated. “I… I saw things. I need to know what they were.”

He swallowed down, clearly nervous. 

“Do you want me to go with you?”

You refused, reaching for him and squeezing his hand. 

“She’ll know what to do. I’ll talk to you soon.”

He pressed his lips together in displeasure, watching silently as you stood up and opened a portal to the sactum, finding Isolde with her eyes fixed on a book. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be at a party?” she raised her gaze to you. 

You closed the portal behind you and put your hands on your waist. 

“I was at a party,” you pointed out. “And then something went crazy. And I need your help.”

She marked the page and focused on you. 

“Who is Odin Allfather?” you questioned. “And something about a hammer, and Thor.”

Isolde watched your face silently and stood up, brushing off dust from her clothes, and pointed at a way for you. 

“Come,” she instructed. “I think I have a book with that information.”

You followed her, heels echoing through the floor of the place, and she stopped in front of an open book, checking the front and reading a few pages before stepping back. 

“Odin Allfather,” she pointed at the page, written in what seemed to be Old Norse.

You just raised your eyebrows at her, grimacing a bit. 

“Sorry, dear,” you crossed your arms, looking back at the paper. “Old Norse isn’t one of my skills.”

Your friend reached the page again. 

“Odin is the King of Asgard,” she told you, running her gaze over the page. “During the ancient times, he was worshipped as the god of wisdom by the inhabitants of Earth.”

“And Thor?” you asked.

“His son,” she said simply. “God of thunder.”

You approached her, resting your eyes on the draw under her fingers, where a small family stood.

“The blonde one,” she instructed. 

You didn’t need that instruction, though, already looking at the figure of the broad-shouldered man with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, raising a hand to your neck and grimacing when you realising your mating mark and gland were simply burning under your skin. 

“Does it say anything about a hammer?” you asked, trying to ignore it. 

She moved her fingers down slowly, and rested upon a name. 

_ Mjølnir.  _

“Mjølnir,” she read. “A war-hammer made from Uru, a special metal, in Nidavellir per Odin's from the heart of a dying star,” she read. 

You nodded slowly, and Isolde raised her gaze to you, staring deep into your eyes. 

“You shall not touch it,” she instructed. 

That made you frown in confusion. 

“I’m sorry?”

“You shall not touch it,” she repeated. 

You continued to stare at Isolde. Why was she saying that? You didn’t even have that thing in your possession, how would you even touch it?

“Why?” you asked. 

“What did you hear?”

You crossed your arms. 

“ _ Whosoever holds this hammer, _ ” you repeated what the man - Odin - had whispered. “ _ If he’ll be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor _ .”

“It’s a great power you’re not ready to yield yet,” she affirmed. “Leave the hammer be.”

You crossed your arms, wanting to ask more questions, though knowing she was done with her answers. You knew Isolde well enough not to poke her mysteries. 

“Tell me. What else did you see and hear?”


	7. III - VI

Year -10 (2010)

The next morning came, and when it did you were still trying to find some book that could explain _why_ in hell you had heard Odin’s voice speaking into your ear, or why you had had those visions, but it didn’t matter how many books you picked up, you couldn’t find it. It also didn’t help that Isolde wasn’t helping you much, except to translate the words. She was too focused on her own book to do it. 

“Y/N,” she called from her seat. “Your phone.”

You turned to your friend with your eyebrows furrowed, and finally realised how your phone had been ringing, and you didn’t know for how long. 

“Who is it?” you asked. 

“Coulson. It’s his third call.”

You breathed in deep. Coulson never insisted on calling you if it wasn’t something of high importance. 

You crooked two fingers, intending to call her closer, but the motion sent your phone all the way through the room and into your hand, almost crashing before you picked it up on the hair.

You exchanged a confused look with Isolde, who just shrugged, and you took the call up still bathed in confusion. 

“Doctor Klaczko,” you muttered. 

“Ma’am, I’m sorry to bother you this morning,” your agent spoke quickly, seeming relieved. “But we found something that we believe you should see.”

You glanced at your friend and then at the book in your hands, but sighed at last. 

“Where are you?”

“Puente Antiguo, New Mexico,” he answered quickly. “Should I send a plane?”

“No need,” you slide your ring in your fingers. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

You turned off the call, fishing for your purse and sticking your phone inside, hoping you could at least find something with pockets to wear once you got there. 

“I have to go,” you told her. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Good luck, dear,” she simply muttered, turning a page, and you rolled your eyes. 

“I hope that book is good.”

“You have no idea."

You just shook your head, moving your hands and opening the portal to Puente Antiguo, stepping inside, closing it behind yourself and grimacing right when you were hit by the dry heat, just cursing yourself for not stopping by your house to change into something more appropriate than a black party dress composed with a full thick sleeve. Those weren’t things that worked in the desert sun. 

“Doctor,” someone approached you, and the blond woman raised a badge in your direction.

You nodded to her and glanced at your side, where the town sign indicated your location by the road. 

“Please tell me they supposed I’d arrive by the town sign and didn’t just spread agents all around the place just to pick me up,” you requested. 

“A little bit of both,” she blushed, and you could see how _young_ she was, and quickly realised you didn’t know her. “Everyone talking to locals around and Agent Coulson told me to to wait for you by the welcome sign.”

“I don’t remember hiring you,” you pointed out. 

The blonde girl blushed. 

“You didn’t, ma’am,” she looked down at her feet. “I’m new.”

You continued to stare at her, and the girl cleared her throat. 

“Carter,” she offered you a hand. “Sharon Carter.”

_Carter?_

You watched her face for a moment, and raised your eyebrows when you finally recognised her face. She was changed, but you two had certainly met before. 

“You’re Peggy’s niece, Harrison’s girl,” you exclaimed. “I didn’t know you were trying to get into SHIELD before, I could help you.”

She blushed. 

“I couldn’t,” she shook her head. “I wanted to get in by my own merit.”

You nodded slowly. 

“Good for you,” you decided. “Did they get you just to pick me up?”

Sharon nodded, embarrassed. 

“I offered my help,” she explained. 

You hummed in confirmation, looking around and finding a motorcycle parked a few steps from you, and she offered you a dark helmet.

“You know,” you walked to the vehicle. “The last time I saw you, you were around five and dressed like a tree for that school play. Snow White, I think.”

You held onto the bike, and she drove away. 

“It’s been a while,” she told you. “You haven’t changed a lot, ma’am.”

You smirked. 

“Yeah, I look good for my age.”

She didn’t answer, and drove away in the desert’s direction, and you weren’t surprised to find a base already set on the place. 

“Thank you. I’ll see you around, Agent Carter.”

“Goodbye, ma’am.”

You groaned in frustration as your shoes dug onto the sand, and ignored the curious look from the armoured man outside the facility, and Phil rushed down a set of stairs to your side as soon as he lied eyes onto you. 

“Doctor,” he welcomed you. “I’m really glad you’re here. You…” he stopped, and eyed you from head to toe. ““You look... gorgeous. But isn’t that a bit... too much?”

You looked down at yourself. 

“I’m yearning to get off of this dress more than you think,” you sighed, reaching for the tablet in his hand. “And not in a fun way.”

Someone behind you chuckled, but you ignored them. 

“What am I here to look at?” you questioned. 

“Follow me, please.”

You walked behind him silently until Coulson stopped by what seemed to be an internal balcony, and you froze in your place when your eyes met a very well-known figure. 

“All we know it’s a war hammer,” he told you. “We don’t know how we got there.”

You continued to eye the big silver hammer, the real version of the figure you’d seen in a book just at night, and pulled your hands away from the barrier between you and the crater around it when the metal thing broke in your hand. 

You want to pick it up, to touch it and take it. It was calling you, begging you for a single--

 _Don’t touch the hammer._

“I think I know someone who does,” you mumbled.

You sucked in a breath when a feeling overcame your body. Something was calling you. Not just the hammer, no, something else. 

“Get me a car,” you instructed him. “And something appropriate for the weather. Hey!” you called loudly into the place. “No one touches that hammer, it’s an order.”

Coulson frowned, confused. 

“Ma’am, we can pick the person up and bring them here.”

You shook your head. You didn’t want your agents prying around more than they already did, this couldn’t take a bigger dimension than it already had. 

“No. I need to find him on my own,” you told him. “Make sure they follow my orders, I don’t want _anyone_ touching that hammer, do you hear me.”

“Yes, ma’am.”


End file.
